PAPER 2.3 - HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA UPTO 1707 AD Unit - I Physical Features of India - Unity in Diversity - Sources of Information - Literary, Archaeological, Epigraphic, Numismatic Sources - Foreign Accounts. Indus Valley Civilization: Its Origin and Growth, Town Planning Architecture - Its Decay. Unit - II Vedic Culture - Rig Veda - Origin of Aryans - Varuna and Caste System, Society And Religion - Rise of Mahajanapadas - Religious Movements - Jainism and Buddhism - Formation of Mauryan Empire : Chandra Gupta, Ashoka and Buddhism - Art and Architecture - Administration of Mauryas. Unit - III The Guptas : Chandra Gupta I - Samudra Gupta - Chandra Gupta II - Kumara Gupta and Skanda - Golden Age of Guptas - Art and Architecture of Guptas - Downfall of Guptas - Harsha Vardhana and Hiuen Tsang. Unit - IV Invasion of Mohammed Gazhini - Foundation of Delhi Sultanate - Slave Dynasty - Khilji Dynasty Tughlaq Dynasty - Lodyc Dynasty Administrative System of Sultanate - Socio and Economic Conditions of Sultanate - Art and Architecture and Sultanate - Legacy of Delhi Sultanate in India Unit - V Indiaon the Eve of Babur’s invasion foundation of Mughal Empire in India - First Battle of Panipat - Humayun - Shersha - Akbar and his reforms - Religion - Second Battle of Panipat - Jahangir - Rule of Nurjahan - Shajahan - Aurangazeeb - Rise of Maratha’s - Shivaji - Administration - Socio Economic Importance - Mughal Administration - Art and Architecture of Mughal - Decline and disintegration of the Mughal’s Administration. BOOKS FOR REFERENCE: Mahajan. V.D. - Ancient India, Chand & Co. Ltd., New Delhi, 1991 Sharma L.P - Ancient Indian History, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1981 Four Authors - A Simple History of Ancient India, Surjeet Book Depot, Delhi 1979. Majumdar R.C. - Ancient India, Motilal Banarasidars Publishers, Banaras, 1952. Nilakanta Sastry K.A - Advance History of India, Alied Publishers, Madras 1971 Sathiananthaier. R - A Political and Cultural History of India, Vol.I Published by S. Viswanathan, Madras - 1952 Tara Chand - A Short History of Indian People, Macmillan & Co, Ltd., Madras, 1969 Rapson E.T - Ancient India from the Earliest Times to the First Century A.D., Cambridge University Press, 1914. Gokhale. B.G - Ancient Indian History and Culture, Asia Publishing House, Calcutta, 1952. Rajayyan, K. - A History of Freedom Struggle in India, Madurai Publishing House, Madurai 1981, Vekatesan. G - History of Indian Freedom Movement, J.J. Publications, Madurai - 1985 Bipin Chandra - India’s Struggle for Independence 1857 - 1947, Penguin Books, 1989. Mahajan V.D - Leaders of the Nationalist Movement, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1975. 2 UNIT-1 History is a record of human experiences in the past. It is a study of political, social and cultural achievements of the people in a given period. Man‘s life is very much influenced by the environment in which he lives. His habits and customs are conditioned by the climate and other natural forces. Similarly, the history of the nation is also affected and regulated by its geographical factors. It is rightly remarked ―Geography and Chronology are the two eyes of history‖. PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA India stretches for 3214 km from north to south and 2933 km from east to west measuring a total land area of 32,87,263 sq. km . India stretches from 68‘07 east longitude in the west to 97°25′ longitude in the east. The mainland of India extends from Kanyakumari in the south to Kashmir in the north. India is surrounded by (i) the Bay of Bengal in the east, (ii) the Arabian Sea in the west and (iii) the Indian Ocean in the south. India is bordered on the north by China, Nepal and Bhutan, on the east by Myanmar and Bangladesh, on the south by Sri Lanka, on the west by Pakistan and on the north-west by Afghanistan. Impact of Geography on Indian History: The nature has endowed its choicest gifts to this wonderful land. The Himalayan Rivers- the Sindhu, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra; and the peninsular rivers – Krishna, Kaveri, Godavari and the Mahanadi.These rivers, along with their numerous tributaries, fulfill one of the most basic needs for life survival –water. That is why we find all ancient civilizations of the world taking birth on the banks of major rivers. Similar is the case with India whose first recorded civilization is the Harappan on the banks of the river Indus. Throughout its early History, mankind constantly moved from one hostile environment to more favorable living conditions. The topography of the land, availability of water, and the climate are the factors that have played a crucial role in the growth of human settlements.The history of India developed in essence as the history of its various regions. Regions had their distinct languages; their art forms differed; even their social customs and practices were different from each other. Thus great dissymmetry in historical change is witnessed between regions of this country. 1. Himalayas: Although the routes through the eastern mountains are difficult, that has not prevented the flow of cultural influence from Southeast Asia and South China. The region has also witnessed a few military invasions from the east as also the gradual and partly peaceful penetration by people like the Ahoms, from Arakan into the Assam valley.The central Himalayan region, extending from Bhutan to Chitral, lies at the fringe of the great table-land of Tibet. There have been trade and other contacts between India and Tibet across this frontier.However, the western and north-western mountain chains have not been able to keep out the flow of people. Peaceful travelers, traders and a series of invaders entered India through this barrier during pre-historic and historic times. The Greeks, the Sakas, Kushanas, the Hunas, the Turks and the Afghans made their entry into India through these routes, while 3 Buddhism and other aspects of Indian culture entered Afghanistan and Central Asia through these passes. 2. Indus Plains: The Punjab, literally the land of five rivers, -Sutlej, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Chenab, have made this region the ‗Bread-Basket‘ of the sub-continent. The prosperity of this region coupled with its strategic location has always lured invaders. As a result, a number of elements have fused into the existing culture.The lower Indus valley and the delta formed by it constitute Sindh. This region has been historically linked with Gujarat. In this region the first urban culture of the sub-continent emerged during the 2nd millennium BC. Thus Harappa, the famous and the first excavated site of the Indus Valley Civilization is situated in the Punjab, while Mohan-jo-daro is located in Sindh, both in present day Pakistan. 3. Ganga Plains: Bounded on the north by the Himalayan foot-hills and the Terai, on the west by the Aravalli range, on the south by the Central Indian Plateau, and on the east by the Rajmahal hills, lies the Ganga plains of northern India.The Ganga and the Yamuna doab have been marked by conflicts and cultural synthesis since ancient times. The Harappan culture also made inroads into this region. This was also the centre of the Painted Grey Ware or PGW culture and the scene of pulsating activities during the Later Vedic period. The middle Ganga plains were where the ancient Mahajanapadas of Kosal, Kasi and Magadha were situated. It was Magadha which was the seat of the Mauryan imperial power which witnessed the earliest manifestation of the political unity in the country. Magadha remained at the centre of history of this country till the Gupta period or the 5th Century A.D. The Ganga plains nurtured a number of human settlements, and have constituted the heartland of Indian Civilization from the first millennium B.C. 4. Central India: The Vindhya and the Satpura hills lying in an east-west orientation divide India horizontally in the centre. Two important routes generally utilized to bypass the Vidhyas were along both its extremities. The western or the ‗Barada‘ gap lying through Gujarat was used by the Aryans to penetrate into south. The Sakas used it to invade the Satavahanas while the Chalukyas used it to stop the imperial designs of Harsha. Ujjain, too, developed into an important commercial trade and political centre. 5. Western India: Western India comprises the great regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Rajasthan is divided into two equal halves by the Aravallis, which run diagonally across it.The towns of Ajmer and Udaipur enabled the Rajputs to retain full or partial independence. The ravines and valleys of Mewar enabled the Ranas to defy the Muslim rulers of Delhi. The towns of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, provided safe habitat to the Rajputs.Gujarat experienced an extension of Harappan culture because of its closeness to Indus. The Rann of Kachchh lying between the south western end of the Aravallis and the Gulf of Kachchh was once an inlet of the Arabian Sea. The lengthy coastline of Gujarat is dotted with several ports, which have been engaged 4 in overseas trade since the 3rd millennium B.C. Lothal, Dwarka and Bhrigukachchha (Broach) were active trading ports during the Vedic times. 6. Eastern India The coastal plains of Orissa, offers an easy access from eastern India to the eastern part of the Deccan Plateau.Protected by extensive forests and mountains in the mainland and bound by the sea on the east, Orissa remained immune from invasions from the Ganga plain over long periods of time. Nevertheless several incursions did take place from the Ganga plains into Orissa along this route. Asoka used the direct route from Magadha to Kalinga for his famous Kalinga War. King Kharvela later used it for the reverse direction – from Kalinga to Magadha. By late first millennium A.D. Orissa had begun to develop her distinct linguistic and cultural identity. 7. Peninsular India The Deccan Plateau and the surrounding coastal plains define the contours of Peninsular India.